I should know better....

If you will recall, Caleb volunteered me to bring cupcakes to his 3rd grade class party today for Halloween. I am the Queen of Duncan Hines. I sit upon my throne with my sceptre and crown shouting to the masses my Cardinal Rule #1 ... "Accept no substitutes!"

And then what do I do? I break Cardinal Rule #1 and buy a store brand cake mix. I baked the cupcakes last night and now I remember why we created Cardinal Rule #1. Suffice it to say, I am leaving in a few minutes to purchase a Duncan Hines Cake Mix and hurrying home to bake 24 cupcakes, frost them and decorate them to get them to school by 1:00 this afternoon. 

I should have known better when I poured the mix from the package and it was the strangest color of chocolate I had ever laid eyes on. But I persevered, believing it would be okay in the end. I added the ingredients, mixed it up good and thought the batter was the sickliest shade of chocolate - not to mention it stunk. I know that sounds strange. I mean whoever heard of bad smelling chocolate? I thought maybe they would be okay once they started cooking. Oh my gosh! My house smelled so bad I had to light candles to hide the nasty cupcake smell.

Then the baking was nearing an end. The timer went off and the cupcakes looked hideous. Did they raise nice and fluffy like my Duncan Hines. No, they raised to the top of the cupcake liner then spread out on the pan looking like a flat muffin top. But they were done and I took them out to cool. When it was time to pop them out of the pan....no pop. No twisting out, no prying out, nothing. Yet, the flat tops peeled off the top of the cupcake and they were very moist and fluffy inside, just really crumbly. We had to literally take our fingers and wedge into the side of the cupcake to get it to release from the pan. A special thank you to my dear hubby for helping release the cupcakes and clean the mess afterwards. Needless to say, 24 stinking crumbling cupcakes are buried in the trash can, tied up and ready for the dump today and I am going to go meet up with Duncan Hines and bring him home. 

And before you say anything, it was not the chef because I made a spice cake with cream cheese icing that turned out 100% perfection....of course, IT was DUNCAN HINES! Point made. 

On another note, I was going through my closet last night trying to decide what to wear today for Halloween when inspiration hit. I am not big on orange so I was looking for something that might go with the holiday. I found my absolute favorite sweatshirt I own. 

I got it at Myrtle Beach many years ago and despite numerous washings it is still so fresh and new looking. I love this shirt and wear it a lot on really cold days. It will be perfect for today with the black cats. 

Happy Halloween! 

Happy Halloween

Ghosts and goblins howling.

Spooks are everywhere.

Black cats are prowling.

There are witches in the air.

Moans and groans abound.

Scary faces can be seen.

Costumes all around.

Watch out ... It's Halloween!

 Break out the candy and goodies and bring on the trick-or-treaters. Have a safe and fun Halloween!

Halloween Eve

Halloween is just one day away. I guess I'm going to a Halloween party tomorrow afternoon. My grandson called me one day last week and said "Mamaw, guess what? I have good news." I asked him what and he said "We are having a Halloween party next Wednesday in my class and I told the teacher you would come to the party AND I told her you would be glad to make cupcakes for it." So I guess I am going to make cupcakes tonight and go to a 3rd grade Halloween party tomorrow. 

You know I love to bake. That is never a problem. But why couldn't he have volunteered me for cookies. Of all the desserts a person can fix, cupcakes is my least favorite. One time in 55 years, I burned the bottoms and now I worry every time I make them that they are going to burn. They never have but the one time when I used really old worn muffin pans, but I still worry about it. 

Oh well, better look online for Halloween cupcake ideas. 

Weekend wrap up

I had some granddaughter time this weekend. Two giggly girls are always a barrel of fun. We started off by going to Trunk or Treat at church. 

Even after being out in the cold and rain that evening they giggled and talked until around 11:00. I went in to wake them up for church the next morning and they were still in their giggle mode. 

Talk about some bedheads.

I was trying to find out what they wanted for breakfast but they kept saying "One more pose." It is a good thing somebody invented digital cameras or I would spend a fortune in film. 

They are both very loving little girls. They had the best weekend together. 

When we went to church, Shelby's teacher wanted Alexis to come into our class that day because she knew the girls would have a blast at dress up time. Two high class ladies waiting on somebody to serve them tea. 

Not sure what they were thinking, but it looks like Shelby was getting a little pensive that nobody had brought the tea.

 

Alexis Caroline

Shelby Rayne

The Divas

Our story yesterday was Daniel and the Lions Den. The class made lion masks for one of the crafts. Shelby does not have a lot of patience. Once Alexis had hers completed, Shelby decided she was finished too. Her mane is a little rough looking. But they had an awesome time together.

There are just not enough days in a weekend. Whoever created "the weekend" did not think it through. 

Some fun fellowship...

Went out on a date with a cowboy, a cheerleader and a cowgirl last night. We had a blast. Our church had Trunk-or-Treat.

The kids rode the train, played some games, climbed all over the fire truck, listened to some great music. I got to hear Miss Kelsey sing. She is in her mid-teens and one of the most powerful, strongest voices I have ever heard. She sings a lot on Sunday mornings and solos in our choir specials. I expect to someday say "I knew her when."



Everybody really took time to decorate their trunks. It was so awesome.




The kids had so much fun and the weather was so nice for the first hour or so and then it turned cold. They did get a lot of candy.

My daughter's father-in-law and his brothers have a lot of antique vehicles. They brought a few of them to trunk-or-treat for the antique car show.



It was a wonderful evening and we had a blast. Lots of neat and original costumes. Even Porter and Dolly stopped by with Bat Woman.

And I did get to enjoy my favorite part of Trunk-or-Treat...an awesome grilled hot dog with chili and mustard and a bag of chips. Yummy!

Finally used my mixing bowl

I finally made a cake with my Hamilton Beach mixing bowl I had looked and looked for. I made one for the Trunk or Treat cake walk tomorrow at church. It is orange supreme with Orange Cream Frosting. I was so happy to finally use my bowl. 

But do you want to hear something funny? Hubby always uses his Kitchen Maid mixer, but I love my hand mixer I have had for years and years. I did not realize it until I was finally making a cake in the Hamilton Beach mixing bowl that I actually HAD a Hamilton Beach mixer. I had just never noticed. 

I feel the need for another piece of Pyrex. I love looking on Craig's List to see what Pyrex and vintage glassware is available. I hardly ever see good deals for pieces I don't have that are within driving distance. I am constantly seeing posts from Pyrex collectors in Oregon and Washington where they score really big bargains so I decided to check Craig's List in some of the majors cities in that area. It was amazing what I found. 

First, I found an estate sale that had all this Pyrex and was selling the entire lot for $100.00. Be still my  heart. What collector would not love to find a find like this. 

Here are some other listings I found in those states. Some were unbelievably low and I thought some were on the high side. Here were some of the things in Washington and Oregon. This set was $14 total for both bowls. Not bad, just $7 each. 

This was a set of four nesting bowls for $35 total. 

This one made me want to find out what the shipping would be to Tennessee. Only $4.00 each. WOW. I may have to check and see on these. 

Not sure what the maker of these were, but the price was just $5.00 total. 

I love the wheat pattern, but I wouldn't personally pay $12.00 for a butter dish. 

This is one of the patterns I collect. I don't think $20 is bad for 3 pieces with lids. 

I would love to find one of these in the yellow or pink color. The clear is a nice piece for $3.00 though.

I have never seen anything like this piece. It was $35.00. 

These Cinderella bowls were $49.00

And these were $59.00 for the set. 

  

I thought $70.00 was a little high for these pieces, but I have never bought any fridgies so I didn't know. 

Well, I would love to do some antiquing today, but it is going to be a busy day. I have a Thirty-One meeting this morning, picking up my granddaughter after that and then taking three of my grandchildren to Trunk-or-Treat at church later. Have a blessed Saturday!

Thinking about it...

Most of my everyday dishes are heavy duty. We have a set of green dishes that are real heavy weight.

We also have some platters we use a lot that are Restaurant Style.

But there are times when I am just having a sandwich and chips and I hate dragging out the heavy plates. I have been looking for something lightweight like melmac, but can't find anything locally and shipping on Ebay or Etsy makes them too expensive.

I have this Corelle platter that Mom gave me that I love. So now I'm thinking I might just look for some Corelle plates for my light lunches.

I found some patterns I like on E-bay. Our local antique store has a ton of affordable Corelle dishes that can be bought by the piece so I may look through their patterns this coming week. They have a Spring Blossom Crazy Daisy pattern that matches my Pyrex nesting bowls. I could look for some plates in that. 

Many years ago, I had some Corningware in the Abundance pattern and loved it. I could look for some dishes in it. 

This is called the Summer Impressions pattern and it looks like something I would like.  

But the one I would really like to find is the Indian Summer pattern. I love the busy flowery patterns.  I also love the color scheme in this particular pattern. I would be thrilled to find some of these. 

It reminds me of that pattern I love in the Arcopal France china line that is so hard to find in the U.S.

In my research of Corelle patterns, I discovered some Christmas patterns. I had never seen these. I do my kitchen in a lot of the reds for Christmas. This pattern would be so neat to stumble on for a tablescape. 

I have seen the holly pattern before. I may even have owned a piece of two in the past. I can't recall but for some reason I think I had a bowl or something from a yard sale in this pattern. 

This is a pretty pattern. I love busy patterns on my dishes, which is strange considering most of my dishes are solids. 

Whatever I find, I can mix and match if I want since they are just plates for lunch so I will only need two of each.